Pious XV
The previous head of The Papal States, Pious the fifteenth initiated the latest crusade into The Saltlands, and sanctioned three knightly orders. Pious felt a calling his entire life, and rose to the highest rank in the church with uncompromising focus. Biography Pious was born Leonardi Rojasno to Lenora Santtilla, a single mother and caravan driver. Leo knew his father, being another caravan hand, but his mother raised him by herself. He accompanied her on her route, and with no other children around, often felt alone and turned to the bible for company. While he didn't understand every word or story, Leo found comfort in the book, and asked his mom about it every night when they stopped. By the time he was eight he was able to read the full text and recite the names of the patriarchs. His mother was able to see his talent for scripture after watching him read through it, and was determined that he be more than a caravan hand. It took several more years before Leo received any formal training, his mother finally saving enough to send him to study with cardinal Menendez of La Baronía de Santa Juana in 2232. In the farming town Leo found a sense of stability that had been missing his entire life, and showed a passion for learning that pleased the cardinal. His studies were deemed a success when he was nineteen, and was invited to stay on as assistant priest. Leo became very involved in his adopted community, seeing to the spiritual needs of the sick and outlying farms. When Cardinal Menendez passed in 2245, he was the natural choice to replace him, which the Vatican agreed with. When Julius Augustus II called for an expedition to The Saltlands, Leo preached a fiery sermon in support of it, calling on the men to join. He also preached of the subservience of women, the value of family, and the sin of homosexuality. Some of these surprised those that knew his background, and caused a few murmurs in the quiet town. They also got the attention of other Cardinals, who began to watch this young conservative. He gained greater notoriety in 2247 when a former comanchero sought conversion after he found out he was dying and asked Leo to preform the ceremony. Leo, despite the man's unsavory past, granted the request, feeling all souls needed saving. This brought criticism from many in the region, though it also put Leo in the spotlight amongst Cardinals. When Julius the second passed in 2250, the college of cardinals voted for three rounds before Leo was entered as a candidate. Despite his own dismissal of the chance and the doubt amongst others, he was elected after another four rounds. Leo was stunned at this development despite watching it happen, and expressed his gratitude to those gathered. He made his public address on June 19th, speaking from a Vatican Balcony. Leo gave a fiery speech about the righteousness of Papal rule, and the might of god, and announced his papal name, Pious XV. His first act was to invite the leading nobles of the realm and ask about their concerns. Most cited rivals and Comancheros as threats, as well as secularization among some towns and institutions. Pious saw to the security concerns by recruiting for the Papal Guard and increasing patrols on Carretera 101, as well as reinforcing forts such as La Luna. The complaint of secularization Pious took more seriously, and endeavored to find out for himself. He thus embarked on a covert trip throughout the Papal States with only a guard and a page for companionship. He traveled from Soto La Marina to Huervo Nache, up the coast to La Baronia de Mar, and then west to the border of Distrito Capital. There the trio turned south and then east, making a special pilgrimage to La Ermita de San Miguel along the way. They returned to the Vatican in February of 2251 travel-weary but content in their findings. While some individuals were not as observant as Pious would have liked, and some officials were corrupt, the realm was still a devout place. One issue that he discovered was the blind eye turned towards prostitution and some fiefs, and especially in the outskirts of the capital itself. To this end he ordered the establishments closed and told his nobles to do the same, threatening to withhold support. He also sent emissaries to the Cattle Country, but they made little progress due to the factitious nature of the area. Pious dived into various other issues for the remainder of the decade, including excommunicating the 'kings' of La Ciudadela for their heretical 'pope'. His attention turned south in 2262 when frontier forts and villages reported increased raids and comanchero activity. Pious dispatched several scouts to get a better understanding of these threats. At the same time, he sent a spy west, to infiltrate the growing Children of the Radfather cult, which he considered mutant heresy. The scouts returned early the next year, warning of growing boldness on the part of tribals and bandits, as well as several salt-mutants agitating for a war-path. Pious weighed these reports and hios options; he initially thought about dispatching several orders of knights to check the mutants' ambitions, but his advisers reminded him that most operated more as a police force than soldiers, and would likely be out of their depth in open combat. His next thought was to hire mercenaries from farther along The Gulf Belt, as places like Corpse Coast had them in abundance, but discarded that as unpalatable as he felt many of them were little better than raiders. His advisers urged him to call on his nobles, but Pious felt a war to be too excessive. He thus settled settled on an expedition mission, sending priests with his own retinue as protection to try and convert some of the tribes, or at least calm their anger. The group set off on March 2nd, 2264, and established a camp deep in the saltlands, where they began to tend to the denizens of the region. The missionaries had good results fo over a year, until a rising salt-mutant warchief besieged and leveled their camp, executing all inside. Pious was incensed when he heard of this, and declared a crusade on the region, calling on all able bodies to join. The resulting deployments were much slower than he wanted, with northern and middle realms unprepar d. Pious himself gathered a force of his personal guard along with citizens of the capital, and headed south. Over the next four years Pious was involved in many battles, while trying to keep up with the affairs of the realm at the same time. He sponsored the La Orden de la Serpiente de Sangre during this time, as well as minting new nobles as they conquered lands, before finally declaring victory in 2270. This was conditional victory, as fighting still continued in some areas, but Pious was tired of the war and headed home, entrusting a select handful of his favored the task of pacifying their new gains. After his return to Soto La Marina, Pious focused on returning normality to the realm, restoring trade and ensuring new Cardinals were appointed. His health started to decline in 2271 and continued to fall until his death in 2273. He was laid to rest in All-Souls Rest in April of that year, in a service attended by hundreds. Appearance Pious was an imposing man in life, standing 6'4" and weighing 163lbs, although he always tried not to overindulge in food or drink. He kept his hair well-trimmed under his mitre and always wore his formal attire, except into battle. Personality Pious was focused, driven and uncompromising. He had a strict interpretation of scripture, and tried to make sure his subjects were observant. Many of his aides and advisors had a great respect for him, but felt he was uptight. He did maintain a soft spot for orphans and beggars, and always have to them. Category:Characters Category:Deceased Category:Mexico Category:Tamaulipas